


The Dynamic Duo

by eternitywrites



Series: Alter Egos [2]
Category: DRAMAtical Murder
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Crime Fighting, Guns, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-03
Updated: 2014-09-03
Packaged: 2018-02-16 00:04:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2248461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternitywrites/pseuds/eternitywrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Don’t you know it’s unprofessional to flirt while you’re on the clock? A city needs saving and the two of you are making bedroom eyes at each other in some back alley. Shameless.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dynamic Duo

The Old Resident District really came alive at evening’s approach. The sun had hardly set and there were already ambulance sirens blaring in the distance.

Noiz balanced on a lamppost, observing the streets below him. Plenty of people were in the area. Some had stopped at the sound of the commotion, gazing down the street in concern. Others went about their business, probably too used to such a clamor to care much about it at this point in their lives. All of them ignored his presence the way anyone would ignore something they couldn’t see. He used to loathe existing in such a state, but after a few years of training he had come to appreciate the power in being unnoticeable. It often made his work very, very easy.

Too easy, at times. He had a feeling tonight was going to be one of those nights.

“P!” An Usagimodoki flitted around his head. “Suspects reported as having fled the scene of the crime on foot and heading toward North District. Two unidentified males, one carrying a sidearm. Firefighters and paramedics are currently dealing with the fire started in the apartment complex on 8th Street.”

“Are the police handling this yet?”

“Negative!”

Noiz clicked his tongue. Typical. Most cops in Midorijima were either too busy kissing ass to gain a better foothold in one of the coveted Platinum Districts or picking the most profitable sides in the numerous gang fights that went on in these particular parts. Fishing out the few good ones from all the bad was a headache Noiz had zero interest in dealing with.

“Please tell me at least one of them used superpowers.”

“Several eyewitness reports state that one of the unidentified suspects shot electrical bursts out of his hands before escaping with his accomplice!”

“Good enough for me. Pull up the map and mark a dead end street close to North District. I want to get to them before they can lose themselves in that garbage dump.”

“Here! It’s over here! P!”

His visor flickered through display data and enlarged the map application, zooming in and marking the requested spot in a bright green circle.

“The distance between the suspects and North District at the time of their escape ensures that Dr. Rabbit will arrive there ahead of them!”

“Then let’s make this quick.”

Noiz released the wire gun from the mechanism on his right wrist and fired it. The hook buried itself into the brick of some narrow, abandoned shop that had long since lost the race into the sky to the multitude of other structures struggling for dominance in South District. After giving the line a quick tug he stepped off the lamppost and let it yank him up and away. He landed on the roof with an easy flip, retracted his wire, then took off toward the ominous cluster tall, rundown buildings in the distance. It was a familiar location to any superhero who worked in Old Resident District for any length of time.

Navigating the uneven surface was tricky, but Noiz sped right to the targeted location on his map in complete confidence of his skill. He leapt over areas that looked too weak to hold him, dodged the various chimneys and antennae and other obstacles that liked to litter roofs, and used his wires to swing across gaps to big for him to jump on his own. The swiftness of it all gave him a curious rush, one that he was only now starting to get acquainted with but was already enjoying.

Every so often he paused to reassess his bearings, and though he was concentrated on his assignment he also took in bits and pieces of the night scenery. In the far distance rose the imposing walls that surrounded the Platinum Districts, the multicolored lights casting them in an unearthly glow that could be viewed from any point in Midorijima. The moon was out, too. It was a shy sliver of a crescent, the only natural light visible in the sky. Stars weren’t really a thing on this island with all the smog.

There was no point in thinking it was a nice night. Noiz knew that. So long as the environment didn’t interfere with his work the “niceness” of it was irrelevant. And yet he found himself thinking it, anyway. He was quite impressed how quickly some things have changed within him over the past month or so.

“Over here, Dr. Rabbit, over here!”

One of his cubes hovered over the gap before him. The difference between South and North District was stark. Here, there wasn’t a single soul to liven the place up. No working lights for miles around, no building that hadn’t been trashed and gutted out a long ago. It’d be easy to spot the assailants in such a place. Noiz hoped they wouldn’t take long. He was on the very edge of North District and he already preferred the loud chaos he had left behind him.

He peered down. The alley was short, narrow, and blocked off by a third building on one end. Perfect for his ambush.

“Is it good?”

“Just what I needed.” Noiz unhooked a chain of his Allmates from his belt and swung it out, releasing them from it all at once. They came to life with squeaky greetings and circled around him, waiting for instructions.

“They’re probably not expecting anyone to have followed them, yet,” said Noiz. It was a fair enough assessment. Many cops gave criminals up for lost once they made it near North District. As soon as he heard where they were headed Noiz knew these two wouldn’t stop running until they got here. “I want three of you on standby near the old gates. The rest of you will spread out at every street entrance around the first three and hold position. There will be no unnecessary chatter while this assignment’s in progress. Keep all surveillance lines open. Everybody got that?”

The air filled with a chorus of shrill, excited affirmations.

“Get going.”

“Roger!”

His rowdy Allmates scattered and tumbled out of the sky. Noiz didn’t hesitate to follow suit. He jumped off the two-story building and allowed gravity to work its magic. That rush came back, stronger than ever, lifting his heart into his throat as he fell. Then he met the ground in a smooth landing, rolling to break the impact and pushing off the ground with his palms so that he sprang back to his feet.

Noiz brushed gravel off his shoulders and readjusted his hoodie before turning on his Coil and flinging multiple holographic screens around him. They gave him shots of various streets in similar stages of ruin.

“P!” The screen showing him angles of the entrance of North District, its old barricades and fences having long since been destroyed and now suffering the slow ruin of neglect, began to flash. “We’re all in position. Awaiting orders!”

“Open a connection to the HN.”

“Superhero voice verification.” The response did not come from any of his cubes.

“Dr. Rabbit.”

“Superhero verified,” said the deep, cold voice. “Dr. Rabbit. Mission: voluntary patrol in the North and South sections of Old Resident District. Recording of mission has begun.”

The footage from all the Usagimodoki cut off, replaced by an image of an ethereal, long-haired woman with many arms and an unsettling smile. Usui, the great avatar of Midorijima’s Heroic Network.

“May fate favor your efforts in our quest to achieve a world of true happiness.”

And in the blink of an eye it was gone, the screens back up and running with surveillance of the district’s entrance once again. Noiz didn’t miss it. He had always found Usui and its motto off-putting and the numerous missions he had been on never managed to lessen its creepiness.

Well, so long as it didn’t interfere with his work beyond its usual functions he supposed he could bear with its presence.

“P! P! P! Suspects inbound,” squeaked on of the cubes stationed at the gate. Noiz could hear the very faint sound of dirt crunching under running feet. “Suspects inbound!”

He took a deep breath. The whiff of rotting garbage nearby mingled with the cool night air. “Alright, projecting first simulation field through rabbits one, two, and three.”

“Roger!”

With eyes closed, he released the breath he held, pushing out every distraction of the real world with it and sinking deep into the darkness of his thoughts until he found what he was searching for. Police cars with flashing lights and loud sirens. Nothing too complex, but large enough to need more than one rabbit to recreate it in reality. He pulled the image back to the top with him, feeling out for the taught line that connected his consciousness to his faithful Usagimodoki and threaded it through.

“Data for first simulation field received. Transfer successful! Good work!”

“Good work?” Noiz frowned and opened his eyes. Police sirens wailed loud somewhere close by. “Where did that come from?”

“Outside influence suggested that we offer more unsolicited encouragement to our handler in order to increase morale and overall success! As your Allmates, we want nothing more than for you to succeed!”

“Right!”

“Yeah!”

“Outside influence…” Noiz muttered. That could only be one thing. He shook his head. “Forget about that for now. Back to the mission.” Two pairs of legs blurred past one of his screens and stopped in another.

 _“Fuck, it’s the **cops**?!”_ A ragged, panting voice came through the Usagimodoki. _“They’re actually here?!”_

 _“Come on, dumbass, this way,”_ the other suspect growled.

Just as Noiz suspected, these men were running scared. They hadn’t even noticed the lack of actual police inside the vehicles. He closed his eyes again and brought up another illusion, this one even simpler than the first: a grimy wall face that blended in with their surroundings.

“Projecting second simulation field through rabbit five. Link it to all other Usagimodoki but nine and bring ‘em in. Rabbit nine will follow behind and keep watch on them.”

“Roger!”

_“These walls weren’t here before!”_

_“Quit standing there and move, damn you!”_

_“Look, maybe you should just turn yourself in, man. Say you killed that chick on accident! They’ll go easy on you!”_

_“I am **not** going to fucking prison! And they’re after your ass, too! You think they’re gonna let you off light for helping me torch her room? We’re supers, they’re never gonna let us out. We have to find a way in here!”_

“Did you catch all that?” Noiz murmured, his eyes on on the screen that showed the backs of the two suspects.

“Audio file saved and sent to the Network!”

One of the suspects let out a nasty curse. _“Quick, this way, I think I saw an open road…!”_

Noiz closed out of his screens and released a few cubes from his second loop of Usagimodoki. Had he been on his usual type of mission he would have stayed invisible the whole time, but infiltrating known supervillain compounds was a far cry from catching runaway criminals. The difference had been jarring to him at first. He wasn't used to curbing his ruthless efficiency.

“Terminate simulation field two,” he ordered as frantic footsteps drew near. “Keep the cop cars up in case they try to escape”

“Roger!”

Casting illusions through his Allmates lessened the strain by leaps and bounds, but Noiz still felt relief when the walls faded away, like someone had finally ceased tugging at sides of his brain.

“In here, let’s go — holy _shit!_ ” The criminals skidded to a halt halfway into the alley.

Noiz stepped out of the shadow of the building, observing them impassively. Both of the men were sweating and panting. The one closest to him had bloodshot eyes and a face streaked with tears. Panic radiated from them in a powerful aura.

“Who the fuck are you?” demanded the one further back. Noiz saw his hand twitch.

Noiz looked at each of them in turn, waiting…

“I said _who the fuck are you?!_ ” The suspect punctuated his question this time by leveling a pistol at him. There it was. Which meant that the nearer one had to be the one with electrical powers. It wasn’t often offensive types augmented their powers with normal firearms.

“At 1833 hours two suspects were seen fleeing the 8th Street apartment building in South District,” Noiz stated at last. “The two of you are wanted on charges of murder and arson. I don’t really care what you decide to do now. I’ll be bringing you in whether you like it or not.”

“You’re a superhero,” accused the closer suspect, his raw eyes widening.

“That’s what my job title says.” Noiz shrugged, gesturing for a couple of his Usagimodoki behind his back. “I’m Dr. Rabbit. Are you going to make this easy on yourselves and give up without a fight? You probably should. From what I hear Platinum Jail cells aren’t so bad. This place would just eat a couple of amateurs like you alive and shit you back out.”

“Fuck you!”

The answer was all Noiz needed. He saw the sparks crackle around the closer suspect’s clenched fist and gave them a thin, sharp smile.

“Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Lightning shot at Noiz in a bright bolt that illuminated the alley, accompanied by a yell of fury from the man. He dodged it and turned invisible with the ease of second nature. Using illusions on himself always brought on a odd sensation, like he had stepped through a thin sheet of cold water.

“Did you get him?”

“I—I don’t think…he’s gone!”

Noiz used their confusion to strike. He dashed up to the lightning thrower, collapsing the cube in his hand and revealing the coil of wire inside of it.

“Aaah-- _shit!_ ” The suspect shouted as Noiz grabbed his arm and twisted him, wrapping the wire around one wrist and tying it around the other before he could recover. When his bound hands began to flash a second time, Noiz slammed his elbow into the back of the man’s neck. The electricity was snuffed out in an instant. Silently, the man teetered and fell face-first to the ground.

That was when the gun went off.

Noiz grimaced, shocked out of his invisibility, his ears ringing with the sound and his face burning where the bullet had kissed his cheek. The man’s shaking hands had made the shot a miss. A very close miss, but that was alright. A different, tingling heat was already smoothing over the wound. In a few minutes not much of it would be left.

Still, his mistake soured his mood. He deserved what he got for such a rookie-level lapse of awareness.

“Don’t move!” The man wasn’t holding his weapon so much as he was flailing it. “Don’t fucking move! I’ll shoot again, I swear!”

“I’m not that concerned. Your aim is terrible,” said Noiz with a sigh. He walked toward him, hands in his pockets. “Guess I’ll have have to go easy on you.”

“I will blow your head off if you take one more goddamn step!”

“Try it.” He couldn't bother even pretending to be concerned. “You’ll be on the ground with your accomplice soon enough.”

“Oh, yeah?” He lifted his free hand. Pale, glowing light curved around him. “You won’t be able to touch me!”

“Really?” Noiz eyed him, somewhat amused at his bluff. It was hard to miss how whatever force field he had created didn’t extend anywhere close around the entirety of his person. “You sure about that?”

The man tightened his grip on his pistol. “The next shot isn’t going to miss, you bastard!”

Noiz spotted movement from high above them, the sound of a slight disturbance on the roof. He stopped. There was no mistaking that blue uniform.

“Fine,” said Noiz, looking back at the suspect. “Guess I won’t be the one apprehending you tonight.”

“That’s right,” said the man, grinning as he backed away. The gun in his hand still trembled, but he kept it pointed at Noiz’s face. “That’s right, you fucking Network dog. Stay right where you are and I won’t —

The figure on the roof landed before them with a heavy thump, making the suspect jump back with a startled cry and lose hold of his shield.

“But the the game’s over for you, anyway,” Noiz added, smirking.

“What the…? Fuck!”

A long leg struck out and smacked the gun out of the suspect’s weakened fingers before the newcomer slammed him into the wall. Noiz, knowing what was about to happen, covered his ears.

 **“Surrender,”** Aoba commanded of the man. His voice rang out more overwhelming than any gunshot, its reverberations rattling Noiz’s bones even though it hadn’t been spoken to him. He almost felt pity for the suspect. Being on the receiving end of Scrap was not a fun ride.

Aoba turned to him with a sunny smile on his face and the front of the suspect’s shirt balled in his hands. With a blink, the strange light in his gaze died out. “Yo, Doc.”

Noiz lowered his hands from his ears. He knew this atmosphere all too well. “Mind Shock. You follow me around a lot for someone who likes to complain about how much trouble I am. What, got nothing better to do?”

“Oh, you know me,” Ever the considerate one, Aoba propped the criminal against the wall before allowing him to fall from his fingers. The man slid to the ground, drooling and vacant-eyed. “I just couldn’t bear leaving my cute junior to fend for himself in the wilderness of North District.”

Cute junior…In the past Noiz’s annoyance had shot up whenever Aoba had the audacity to call him that. It still did, but nowadays it was mixed with something that made it curiously bearable. Even pleasant, in a way.

“It seems to me you’re now just too lazy to bag criminals on your own,” said Noiz as Aoba came up to him with a hand on his hip and the other reaching up to pet the dog-type Allmate perched as always on his shoulder. “Finally deciding to stoop down to your low rating?”

“Says the one who almost got a bullet between the eyes from some unregistered thug.” Aoba reached out and touched the closed but still-raw wound on his cheek with careful gloved fingers. “Tell me, Dr. Rabbit, you didn’t… _allow_ yourself to get shot, did you?”

Noiz didn’t draw away from his touch — he wasn’t interested in doing that anymore — but true, uncomfortable irritation prickled at his skin. Aoba had a remarkable talent for wasting his energy throwing a fuss over nothing. Noiz had little patience for it.

“I slipped up and I paid for it. It happens.” Noiz shrugged. “And even if I did let him shoot me, what’s the big deal? My body can handle a bullet or two. I know what I’m doing.”

Aoba’s hazel eyes regarded him coolly under the blue and white eye mask he wore, but the tightness in his jaw indicated lurking anger. When the silence stretched further than necessary, Noiz wondered if he should gear himself up for an argument. Then Aoba removed his hand from Noiz’s face, flicking the droplets of blood off his fingers.

“Sloppy,” he decided at last. “ _Very_ sloppy work, Doc, but I think I have a few plasters in my pouch for you. I forgot to pick up the kiddy bunny-print ones you like so much from the store yesterday, though. My bad.”

“They have bunny-print plasters?”

Aoba stared at him, surprise in every line of his features. There was a snort, followed by a loud burst of laughter.

Noiz raised his eyebrows. “What’s so funny?”

“Was that an actual question? Noi — oops, sorry — Doc, you were supposed to keep up the…ah, never mind.” Aoba briefly buried his face in his hand, still shaking with the giggles. “Try to stay on your guard next time, alright? I don’t know what I’ll do if my cute junior ends up wrecked and hospitalized.”

Noiz thought something like that would even the score between them, but that particular incident was not one he cared to bring up when the mood was so light.

“You could try driving yourself around the districts for a change.” He kept his tone pitiless.

“Hell no, asshole!” With a huff, Aoba turned his attention to his Allmate. “Ren?”

The dog stretched himself out on his stubby legs and shook his coat. “I’ve already contacted Network authorities, Mind Shock. Officers will be here in an estimated ten minutes for pickup and request that at least one superhero be present at their arrival.”

“Got it. Thanks, Ren! Well, you heard him.” Aoba brought his focus back to Noiz. “Only one of us have to stick around, so I’ll leave you to it. The night’s still young and I’ve got civilians I need to look out for. You know how it goes.”

“So you’re just going to leave your cute junior alone again after all you’ve said?” Noiz stepped closer to him. The bit of redness blossoming on his skin from under the mask made him grin.

“With the way you were going on about me stealing your glory I figured you wanted me gone.” Aoba grinned and pinched his uninjured cheek hard enough to leave a tiny sting. Noiz didn’t mind it. “Besides, you’re a big boy,” he said, his words pure honey. “You can handle things on your own for a bit, right?”

“Sure, but my patrol’s going to be really quiet without my gorgeous senior lecturing me.”

“ _Gorgeous senior?_ Listen here, you little — hey!”

The second Noiz took another step, arms held out for an embrace, Aoba leapt away. The reaction was what he expected. He let Aoba go without complaint.

“You know the rules,” Aoba said from his new spot near an old dumpster, looking every bit like a strict school teacher.

“I’m only trying to keep you on your toes,” Noiz told him. “You leave yourself wide open, Mind Shock. How do you even last halfway through a shift like that? You’re lucky it was me sneaking up on you and not some violent criminal.”

“Excuse me,” he snapped, “but I do just fine when I’m not being lured in by shameless sweet talking.”

“So you were _lured in,_ huh?” Noiz mulled the words over, a triumphant little glimmer sparking inside him. Yet another weakness of Aoba’s discovered. He resolved to come up with more sweet things to say to him later.

Aoba made some incomprehensible sound of embarrassment. “I’m leaving!”

He glanced at the two skeletal buildings that lined the alley with a practiced eye, then ran at one of the walls and launched himself up it. The small jets on his back shot him further skyward with ease, and soon he was bounding up its side, the bright fire of his propellants making Noiz squint as he watched his ascent. The handrail of a rusted metal balcony protruded near the top of the complex. Aoba grabbed on to it and swung his body up in a graceful arch, landing in a perfect crouch on the very edge of the roof.

A thought occurred to Noiz. He smiled and tilted his head to get a better view of Aoba, now a vivid splash of blue against the dark night sky.

“Hey, wait. I’ve got to ask you something.”

Aoba twisted around to face him, his balance on the roof ledge unwavering. “And what would that be?”

“Are you really going to make me fill out the forms for each these guys,” Noiz nodded over to suspect Aoba had apprehended, “even though we _both_ took them out?”

“Eh?”

Even from a distance Noiz could see Aoba’s face slacken. He heaved a sigh loud enough to be heard all the way from Aoba’s position.

“No wonder you’re in such a hurry to go. That’s so lazy of you, Mind Shock. And you say I act shamelessly.”

“Well, I — uh…”

It was a delight to watch him squirm. Noiz waited until it was clear Aoba was about to jump back down before letting him off easy. “Alright, so maybe I’m feeling generous tonight.”

“You’ll write off my catch for me?” The relief in Aoba’s voice was obvious.

“What would I get out of it if I did?”

Noiz slid his hands into his pockets and waited. There was a pause, and then:

“You might find out later on. If you’re lucky.”

Noiz made sure his laugh was audible. “That sounds exciting. I can’t wait.”

“ _If you’re lucky,_ Doc,” he repeated. “Don’t get into any more trouble tonight.”

“Whatever.” Noiz rolled his eyes. “Better hurry up and get out of here before the officers arrive and make you do your share of the work.”

“I’m going, jeez!” Aoba lifted his hands in the air in defeat. “You shoo me away, then you want me to stay, now you want me to go again. Would you make up your mind?”

How was there even any doubt? Noiz wanted Aoba to stay. But he didn’t say that out loud. He simply waved him off with a dismissive hand.

“Rude.” But Aoba stopped himself just as he turned to go, his footing wobbling ever-so-slightly with his abrupt change of movement.

“What now?” Noiz touched a few buttons on the side of his visor, zooming in on Aoba’s face to make sure something serious wasn’t going on. His expression was softer, unguarded, and drew warmth to the surface of Noiz’s chest. He saw Aoba press a hand to his ear, and suddenly his voice came through Noiz’s own ear piece. It sounded very gentle.

“Be careful, okay?”

“Yeah.” Noiz dropped all pretense, as well. He spoke low, as though they were sharing secrets. And they were, in a way. Dating one’s coworker was never the smartest move, even more so in the superhero business. Painful first-hand experience had been quick on teaching the two of them such a lesson. “You, too. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Bye.” The line cut off. Aoba waved at him from his perch. Noiz simply nodded. Aoba didn’t hesitate after that. Hair whipping behind him as he spun back around, he took off deeper into North District. Noiz could hear the crumble of rotting concrete break even under steps as light as Aoba’s.

Once again there was silence. Noiz found himself gazing up at the spot where Aoba had stood long after he was gone. It took Usagimodoki knocking against his head to refocus him.

“P! Heroic Network officers an estimated three minutes away! Requesting status report!”

“Put them on the main line.”

“Roger!”

Back to the grindstone it was. He was still getting used to actually caring about his job, but he was surprised at how much he was starting to prefer dealing with all the headaches it brought him over the haze of indifference he used to regard it, and everything else, with.

And a large part in his change of attitude was thanks to the one who had accidentally kicked his ass one night and ended up his reluctant partner. Things ended up snowballing out of control from there. It was almost overwhelming to think about. At times he wasn’t even sure he liked it. But he was getting better about that. Slowly but surely.

“This is Dr. Rabbit,” Noiz said, pulling himself out of his reverie and speaking into his headset with his dry, professional voice. “I have the suspects with me. They’ve been disarmed and are ready for pickup…”

 

* * *

 

The next day Noiz pulled up to the Seragaki household. Out of all the places in Old Resident District, he found East District one of the least troublesome places to drive in. The streets may have been narrower but the pedestrians weren’t utter assholes like they were in South District.

It was a bright day, but definitely not early. He had been up and ready to go since nine in the morning, but he knew better not to make a house call until eleven.

He had arrived ten minutes past to give Aoba time to wake up. Ten minutes after that and still no sign of Aoba despite text messages assuring Noiz he’d be out no later than fifteen minutes ago and the one Noiz just sent him asking where he was.

His mouth fell into a sullen line. He reached toward the horn, but that was a temptation he didn’t plan on giving in to. As far as he knew the eldest Seragaki was still in the house. Noiz crossed a lot of people in his line of work, but she was one of the few whose good side he preferred to stay on.

The sound of an opening door caught his attention. He leaned over to get a better look. Stepping out onto the house’s cramped balcony wasn’t Aoba but—

“Good morning, Noiz!” Sei waved at him, eyes still closed and swimming in overlarge pajamas. “Aoba overslept again. He’ll be out in a second!”

“I thought so,” Noiz called back. “Tell him he might as well take his time at this point.”

“And Grandma says she’s inviting you over for dinner tonight if you’re not busy with work!”

“I…” Noiz hesitated. “Okay. I’ll be there. I guess.”

“Great, we can’t wait! She and I will be making fried donuts for dessert!”

“…Right.” Though Noiz muttered this too quietly for Sei to hear. He didn’t understand how dinner with these people was sometimes more nerve-wracking than all his solo covert missions into dangerous enemy territory.

Just then, the front door opened and Aoba stumbled out, hair mussed and Ren’s bag slung over his shoulder. Noiz couldn’t help the small smile spreading across his face as he watched the twins exchange farewells.

“Bye, little brother!”

“See you! We’ll be back this evening.”

Noiz pressed one of the many buttons on the dashboard, opening the passenger door for Aoba.

“Sorry about that,” said Aoba through a wide yawn. “I passed out when I finally got home. Neither of us heard Ren’s alarm go off.”

“It’s fine.” Noiz gave him a furtive once over as he got in and closed the car door. Aoba looked alright, no visible signs of pain in any of his movements. “How did the rest of your night go?”

“I finally tracked down the leader of Rat Trap last night! He looked like he was running on an entire month without sleep so the fight was a cakewalk. I didn’t even need my voice for it.” Aoba buckled his seat belt and set his bag on his lap. “What about you? Anything else happen on your end?”

“I went back to South District. Stopped a couple of muggers and a jewelry store robbery. Easy stuff.”

“So you stayed out of trouble?” asked Aoba, his tone lilting high and teasing.

“Only because I want my present for being so nice to you last night.”

“Which I’m very, _very_ thankful for,” Aoba assured him, hand over his heart. “Thank you so much, Noiz, for your kindness.”

Noiz hummed. “Right. So what’d you get me? I hope it’s something good.”

“Wow, how impatient. Close your eyes for me?”

“But isn’t this the part where you say that _you’re_ my present?”

“Close your eyes!” Aoba glared at him.

“Fine.” But Noiz found himself smiling again as he shut them. He heard the sound of a zipper and raised his eyebrows.

“Was that your jeans coming undone?”

Aoba smacked his shoulder. “Get your mind out of the gutter! Do you want this present or not?”

“Wait, you actually bought me something?” Noiz furrowed his brow. Honestly, he hadn’t expected Aoba to take him seriously. A kiss at most, maybe. “I was only joking about — ”

“Just give me your hand,” Aoba sighed.

Curious and more than a little on edge, he did as he was told. He felt Aoba’s hand cup the back of his as he put something in his palm. A light and narrow box, the kind pill bottles often came in. Odd.

“Okay, go ahead and open them.”

Noiz looked down at his hand. His mouth fell open, but no words came out.

A package of bunny-print plasters in a variety of sizes.

“I had to go through three separate drugstores after work,” said Aoba with a cheeky little grin. “but for you I’d gladly search all over the island now matter how long it took. Don’t use them all at once, alright?”

Noiz glanced from his gift to Aoba. “You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”

“That's righ—mmph!”

Laughing, Noiz set the box down on top of the glove compartment and yanked Aoba in for a deep, enthusiastic kiss. They didn’t break apart until some minutes later, but Noiz kept him close. Aoba was very warm. It was hard to part from him.

“That was a pretty good comeback,” he told Aoba, mouth alive with heat.

“I thought you’d appreciate it,” he replied, blushing and slightly out of breath. “Are we going back to your place?”

“That was the plan,” said Noiz. He pulled away from him at last and started the car up. “I want you to myself for a few hours.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad.” Aoba took his free hand and laced their fingers together as Noiz drove down the street. “You want to go to the Black Needle for drinks before dinner tonight?”

“Sure thing.” Noiz lifted their joined hands and pressed his lips to the back of Aoba’s. Their coy, goading conversations as superheroes were always entertaining, but they could never beat the open affection they showed one another during off hours.

“Hey, Noiz?”

“Hm?”

“Are you having fun?”

Noiz didn’t even hesitate. “Yeah.”

Aoba gave his hand a squeeze. “Good. That’s good. Let’s do our best on our next shift, too.”

“Of course, especially if it means I’ll get more presents from you.”

“Not all the time,” Aoba said firmly, but then he paused. “We’ve gotta spread them out, you know? You _are_ getting two today.”

“Am I?”

“Well…”

Noiz glanced at him. Aoba was staring at the window as if the scene outside fascinated him.

“I didn’t say no to being your present, too. If you want me.”

Aoba glanced back at him and smiled. Noiz grinned in return and stepped on the gas.

Being a superhero was a hassle more often than not, but moments like these made him infinitely glad he had accepted the Network’s offer all those years ago. And he was sure that Aoba felt the same way.

They were partners, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> getting a feel for things
> 
> edit: the story has changed so much this oneshot is now like an au for the au orz. one day. one day i'll make this happen...


End file.
